Getting Lost in Maps from Children's Literature

If there is one thing I am a fan of, it is a children's book with a map. Nothing complements a children's story like a beautifully illustrated map. A map in children's literature can literally take you along on the adventure. Think of Tony DiTerlizzi's wonderfully inked map which adorns his and Holly Black's The Spiderwick Chronicles. A map can also serve to bring to life the stomping grounds of the different inhabitants of an imaginary location. Ernest Shepard's "collaboration" with Christopher Robin in The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh, by A.A. Milne is a perfect example. And sometimes a map just makes the book more beautiful to look at such as the lovely vintage map of Paris covering the end pages of Adele & Simon by Barbara McClintock.

Whether the cartography is of an imaginary realm or 1907 Paris, I can pour over them for hours, inserting myself into the tantalizing topography. Please enjoy getting lost in some images of brilliant chlidren's literature maps I have taken from my own personal library, below. If you prefer to browse on a convenient Pinterest board, I've got one for you right HERE!

Enjoy!

Josh

From Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales. Map by Beatrix Potter. Penguin, 2012.

From The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne. Map by Ernest Shepard. Dutton, 1992.

From The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Map by J. R.R. Tolkien. George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1937.

 

From The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. Map by Tony DiTerlizzi. Simon and Schuster, 2003.

 

From The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. Map by Evaline Ness. Holt, Rinehart & Co., 1964.

 From The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. Map by Jules Feiffer. Random House, 1961.

 

From The Wildwood Chronicles by Colin Meloy. Map by Carson Ellis. Balzer + Bray, 2001.

From "Adele & Simon" by Barbara McClintock. Map from from 1907 edition of Paris and Environs by Karl Baedeker and incorporated into book design by Iren Metaxatos. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006. 

From "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett. Map by Brett Helquist. Scholastic Press, 2004.